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Edric Mendoza, chairman of the Homeschooling Association of the Philippines (Hapi), said more and more parents now have opted to have their children be in homeschool.

Mendoza said since 2009, the number of homeschooled children increased to approximately 5,000 and they expect the numbers to continue its upward trend in the next few years.

“This figure does not include independent homeschooling families who are not connected with any resource providers like us but may seek validation from the Department of Education or DepEd through testing,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza, however, said several sectors questioning the effectiveness of homeschooling, he said it continues to gain ground in the past three years despite the preference of Filipinos for the traditional form of schooling.

Mendoza’s group is composed of homeschooling families, as well as various schools accredited by the DepEd who offer homeschool programs such as The Master’s Academy (TMA), Kid’s World and the Heritage Academy.

He said many parents would still want to educate their children in formal schools, believing that “homeschooling has the ability to transform and strengthen families.”

He said their success aims to dispel the idea that only teachers can educate children.

Mendoza said the increasing popularity of homeschooling also dispelled the notion that it is suited only for children of the affluent or showbiz personalities.

Mendoza said their group espouses homeschooling where parents can enroll their children in existing schools with homeschool programs accredited by the DepEd such as TMA, Kid’s World and Heritage Academy.

He said parents who availed themselves of their program are assigned advisors or consultants who will educate and train them on the entire program, as well as the materials used adding that parents can always asked for advice from their advisers and consultants.

Parents are also the ones left to devise their schedules and teach their kids according to the curriculum.

Mendoza said this setup allows for more freedom because homeschoolers usually devote mornings to academics and the afternoons are for extra-curricular activities like theater, sports and music.

He also corrected the notion that homeschooled kids are virtual recluses since they do not enjoy the company that their counterparts in formal schools do. There are many activities that their group can and have arranged to get homeschooled kids to socialize and participate in team-building activities.

But aside from having the chance to educate your children yourself, he said the most rewarding aspect of the program is the bonding between parent and the kid. He said he himself experienced this as all his four children were enrolled in the program.

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